Belal Muhammad vs Vicente Luque to headline UFC Fight Night on April 16
A major welterweight showdown with potential title implications has been set for later this Spring. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto first reported that a matchup between two UFC welterweights ranked in the Top-5 of the division will serve as the main event on April 16 when fourth-ranked Vicente Luque meets fifth-ranked Belal Muhammad in a rematch from 2016.
The first time they fought was back at UFC 205 when Luque had a first-round TKO victory over Muhammad, but things have changed in a major way since that first meeting. Since his loss to Luque, Belal Muhammad has only lost once in his last 12 fights, while winning 10 of them and suffering a no-contest in the other. Currently, he is riding a six-fight winning streak with his most recent victory coming in dominant fashion where he used his wrestling skillset to control Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and earned a unanimous decision victory back in December.
Vicente Luque is currently riding a four-fight winning streak of his own, picking up wins over Michael Chiesa, former champion Tyron Woodley, Randy Brown, and Niko Price. Since fighting Muhammad in 2016, Luque has gone 10-2 in 12 fights, with losses coming to Leon Edwards and Stephen Thompson.
Belal Muhammad took to his Twitter account on Tuesday to confirm the matchup, with a tweet that read “MAIN EVENT MUHAMMAD” and then the report of the fight was announced by ESPN. After the matchup was reported, Muhammad shared a photo of both he and Luque to all but make the fight official.
MAIN EVENT MUHAMMAD 👀
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) January 26, 2022
4 vs 5 to see who’s number 1 the climb continues pic.twitter.com/yYSAKBMgTL
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) January 26, 2022
With the two most recent welterweight title challengers Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington set to meet in the main event of UFC 272 in March, there is a good probability that the winner between Belal Muhammad and Vicente Luque could position themselves to face champion Kamaru Usman. Usman last defended his title at UFC 268 against Covington by unanimous decision, the second time the champion has defeated him to defend his title.
As the welterweight division looks for new title challengers for Usman, this matchup between Belal Muhammad and Vicente Luque could determine the next title contender.
